Playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on the Death March difficulty is dreadful. Plenty of things are way harder on Death March. You gain experience points at a slower rate on Death March, and you have to trial and error almost every monster fight.
Nowadays, Dark Souls has become a benchmark for assessing how difficult a game is. Any RPG (role-playing game) that claims to be difficult must pass the Dark Souls test before it's taken seriously. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is easier than Dark Souls but more difficult than Skyrim. These are ten RPGs brutally harder than The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
10 Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn
Back when BioWare developed the original Baldur's Gate games, they decided to make the sequel more difficult and less linear than the first. Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn requires more finesse and preparation than the first one does.
For the most part, the reception of Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn was positive, with many critics praising its story. Newbies to Baldur's Gate high fantasy Dungeons & Dragons setting should start with the original or stick with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
9 Divinity: Original Sin II
Divinity: Original Sin II will pose a challenge for those new to the RPG genre, even if you play on the easy difficulty. This might be why the developers of Divinity: Original Sin II implemented a quick save function.
A quick save function allows you to save before turn-based battles so that you can retry them over and over. With that said, there is a fun game beneath its painstaking difficulty. Avoid the headache by playing on easy mode.
8 Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role-Playing Game
Don't be discouraged when playing Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game. The beginning is super rocky, but it starts to mellow out towards the middle.
There is also a spike in difficulty towards the end. At least the first Fallout is consistent throughout. The beginning of Fallout is easy, and then the middle is medium-difficult, then the ending is difficult. The random difficulty spikes in Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game make it tougher than The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
7 Lords of the Fallen
Before you discount this as another wannabe Souls-like, know that Lords of the Fallen brings enough to the table to be relevant. Some criticize the game for its sluggish gameplay and slow-pacing, but there is a decent game beneath its flaws.
Lords of the Fallen has grueling boss fights. If you've never played this type of action RPG, Lords of the Fallen is a challenge. If you have, you might find it easier than The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
6 Pillars Of Eternity (PotD Difficulty)
You'll find that the easiest sections of Pillars of Eternity are its middle and end. The game gets progressively more relaxed once you gather a full party.
However, if you aren't remotely familiar with the type of role-playing game, you'll probably find Pillars of Eternity more demanding than The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Despite being a challenge for most players, it is recommended to play on hard mode for a rewarding experience.
5 Bloodborne
Bloodborne is one of the most difficult and darkest games of its genre. You'll face numerous bosses, whereas The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has fewer bosses that pose a problem.
Technically speaking, Dettlaff from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's Blood and Wine DLC is more difficult than anything in Bloodborne. Generally, you can get through The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt with patience and knowledge of spells and attacks.
4 Demon Souls
You may have noticed that the above screenshot is from the Demon Souls Remake trailer, not the original. Demon Souls Remake will release for the PlayStation 5, and we couldn't be more excited.
It's debatable, but many would agree that Demon Souls is harder than Dark Souls. Enemy encounters and progression is more tedious in Demon Souls, while Dark Souls bosses require more effort. Regardless of which way you look at it, Demon Souls is considerably harder than The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
3 Nioh
Team Ninja, the developer behind games like Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive, decided to hop on the Souls-like bandwagon. It's not surprising that reputable developer Team Ninja managed to create a relevant Souls-like. Nioh might be the hardest game on this list because of a few boss fights (e.g., Shima Sakon and Oda Nobunaga).
In comparison to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Nioh is more difficult. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is known for its immersive RPG story, whereas Nioh has unforgiving combat.
2 Wizardry IV: The Return Of Werdna
Back when video game developers were recovering from the great video game crash of the '80s, Wizardry IV: The Return Of Werdna was a nearly impossible to beat RPG. Video games were considered a fad, and it was unclear if the industry would ever recover.
Wizardry IV: The Return Of Werdna was designed to appeal to hardened players who have played other Wizardry games. Newbies will fall flat because of its painstaking difficulty. This RPG is harder than The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt by far.
1 Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition
Although the trend is heading towards progressively easier Dark Souls games, the original Dark Souls is no cakewalk. They don't call it the "Prepare To Die Edition" for nothing. Many would agree that Ornstein & Smough is one of the fiercest boss battles in video games.
Fighting two bosses at once in Dark Souls is like fighting two apes in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The difference is that each boss has a unique move set in Dark Souls. Also, either Ornstein or Smough grows more powerful when one of them is slain. Prepare to die is an understatement.